Disc Reviews
Cobra 4K Review
Stallone’s high-grossing, but sadly, underproduced thriller from the 80s bafflingly become one of his cult staples. Why? Well, where do we even begin to make the argument. Okay, let’s start with the man himself. Stallone looked cool. The poster was cool. Stallone, all ragged with stubble and wearing shades. Can’t get any more action 80s than that. Throw in Brigitte Neilson as the damsel in distress, then throw in Terminator-looking Brian Thompson as the bad guy with a predilection for the word “Pig”. Give Stallone a real banger of a car (and then trash the fucker on screen unceremoniously), give us the director of Stallone’s previous effort Rambo: First Blood Part II (George P. Cosmatos – who would go on to greater glory with Tombstone). These things all stand up. But there was a rushed nature of this film, if not in its making, then in its execution and editing. Cobra could have been a franchise, but it soiled itself in the time it was made. It looks mid-80s and feels it. Blame the extras, the support cast, the costumes, nothing is timeless about Cobra. And yet, somehow it has endured. Not quite to the level of ultra cheese like Road House (oh, that Arrow 4K came out last month! Get that for sure!). So, Cobra must therefore live in nostalgia, but not great nostalgia, despite always getting a railing from critics and fans alike. So, let’s give it it’s due then here for this new 4K release.
Say what you want about the film (It’s dog shit!), but you can’t fault the extras package. This is largely put together by Scream Factory, despite being an Arrow release here in the UK. For either company, you rarely get the top brass involved (if they are still alive), so no Stallone, Neilson. But you do get bunch of great character actors like Andrew Robinson (Dirty Harry, Hellraiser) and Art La Fleur (The Blob, Death Warrant) giving their time to reflect on the film. And even better than that are the trio of the main villains also show up for separate interviews. Lee Garlington (with that hair in the 80s looked a little bit too much like Grace Slick) is game for a conversation about Stallone. Marco Rodriguez talks through the film’s opening supermarket killer set piece and big bad Brian Thompson talks firstly about his break in the Terminator and then that leading to Cobra.
Cosmatos may have passed away but there is still archival material, including commentary action from him about the film. This is as good as Cobra is probably ever going to get, unless Sly has the bright idea to return to the character, er, in his 70s.
Steven Hurst
4K ULTRA HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
• Brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original 35mm negative by Arrow Films
• 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Original lossless stereo 2.0, 4.0 and DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio options
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Brand new audio commentary by film critics Kim Newman and Nick de Semlyen
• Brand new audio commentary by film scholars Josh Nelson and Martyn Pedler
• Archive audio commentary by director George P. Cosmatos (1998)
• TV version of the film featuring deleted and alternate scenes, presented for the first time on home video (standard definition only)
• Slashing the Night Away, a new interview with composer Sylvester Levay
• Dark Glasses, Violence & Robots, a new visual essay by film critic Abbey Bender on Cobra and 80s maximalist cinema
• White Line Nightmare, a new visual essay by film critic Martyn Conterio on Cobra and the “Maverick Cop” genre
• Stalking and Slashing, an archive interview with actor Brian Thompson
• Meet the Disease, an archive interview with actor Marco Rodriguez
• Feel the Heat, an archive interview with actor Andrew Robinson
• Double Crossed, an archive interview with actor Lee Garlington
• A Work of Art, an archive interview with actor Art LaFleur
• The Making of Cobra, 1986 featurette
• Teaser trailer
• Theatrical trailer
• TV Spots and trailers
• Image gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tommy Pocket
• Illustrated collector’s booklet containing new writing on the film by film critics Clem Bastow, William Bibbiani, Priscilla Page, and Ariel Schudson
• Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tommy Pocket
Cobra is out on 4K Blu-Ray on July 21st